Automatic bobbin-controller for sewing-machines.



No. 875,603. PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

W. N. PARKES. AUTOMATIC BOBBIN CONTROLLER FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 11' 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED-DEG. 31, 1907.

W. N. PARKES. AUTOMATIC BOBBIN CONTROLLER FOR SEWING MACHINES.

i MIllllmlilllllllllllllllllllllllIH 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

A! y n APPLICATION FILED 1330.11, 1901.

UNITE 2|:

ears ra'rnn Erie,

WILLIAM N. PARKE S, OF BROOKLYN, NEW. YORK.

AUTOMATIC BOBBIN-CONTROLLER i OR SEWINg-MAQHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Dec. 31, 1907'.

Application filed December 11- 1901. Serial No. 35.471-

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Bobbin-Controllers for SewingdVlachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the looper mechanism of lock-stitch sewing machines.

In lock-stitch machines, generally speaking, the bobbin, cop or other mass of locking thread, is held loosely in a bobbinholder, and when thread is drawn therefrom, in the rapid operation of the machine, the mass is caused to overthrow, or spin, and the thread to spill or uncoil and become tangled or broken, this being especially true when a large bobbin, or a large quantity of thread, is employed. Moreover, when a frictional tension is placed directly upon the strand of thread, it causes the loose thread, between the mass and the tension-device, to untwist, kink and break; or makes an imperfect place in the stitchingin pulling the kinked portion of the thread through the tension.

it is the main object of this invention to provide means for automatically controlling the bobbin, or mass of thread carried by the bobbin case or holder, and the delivery of the thread from said mass, so as to eliminate or reduce the above mentioned and other defeets in this class of machines.

Primarily the invention consists of a looper or hook, a bobbin or mass of thread, a device intermediate said mass of thread and the looper that does not turn with the mass or the looper, and means for automatically controlling said bobbin or mass of thread for the purposes stated.

in details the invention consists of the parts, features, and combination of elements hereinafter described, and specifically set,

forth in the claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a machine having my invention applied thereto, arts bein broken away to expose details oi constructlon; Fig. 2 is a side view of the thread-controller showing it in engagement with a bobbin for ex ample; Fig. 3 is a tolp-plan view of the same; Fig. 4 is a vertical ongitudinal section of a portion of Fig. 2, but with the controller shown outof contact with the bobbin Fig.

5 is a horizontal section of the thread-controller taken through the center of the lever 11,Fig. 2,- and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the cam for actuating the controller.

Primarily, it is to be-noted that the stitchforming mechanism herein illustrated is, or may be, the same as that made the subject of vmypatent granted June 9, 1903, No. 730,692, and that in said machine the looper and bobbin-holder are preferably disposed in a horizontal plane the bobbin-holder is supported by, and contained in, the looper, and

is held from turning during the operation of the machine; the bobbin-holder 1s provided with a secondary hook which aids the looptaking hook. of the looper in passing t e needle-loop about the holder and lockingthread; no tension is directly ap lied to the strand of the under thread, leading to the work, at any time during the operation of the machine; the usual tension-device on the bobbin-holder and the various eyes and leads for the thread are dispensed with, thus enabling, in combination with the special construction of looper-devices described in the said patent, the use of the bobbin, cop or other mass of thread, more thanfiwo and one-half times greater than ordinarily used in other machines of like character, and also permitting the use of a very 'much larger bobbin-holder, without increasing the size of the looper or the quantity of needle-thread used in the loop passed about the bobbinholder. It is also'to be noted that the extent of the stroke of the take-up is not increased,

nor is the quantity of thread drawn through the needle in the stitch formation.

In the drawings, A represents the overhanging-arm; B, the bed-plate C, the needlebar; D, the take-up; F, the needle; and G, the looper-driving. shaft of the machine, all of which may be constructed and operated in usual manner.

To the forward end of the shaft G, is at-' tached a bevel-gear 1, which meshes With a bevel-gear 2, the diameter of which is one-half that of the gear 1. On the gear 2, is provided an extension or hub 3, which is fixed to a short, vertically disposed; looper-shaft, journaled in a portion .of the bracket 4, on the bottom of the bed-plate. To the hub 3, is attached a looper 5, in any suitable manner, a bobbin-holder 7, being supported by and contained within the looper, and provided with a hook 6, which aids in spreading the loop of needle-thread about thebobbinholder.

The bobbin-holder is held from rotation by any suitable means, and carries within its with sli ht changes in details, any mechanic,.

skilled 1n the art, could adapt the looper to operate in any desired plane. The stitchforming mechanism; thus explained, is all substantially the same as like parts in my before'mentioned patent, and forms no art of mypresent invention, except in so ar as it forms a cooperative part of the combination claimed and as it is adapted to cooperate with the thread-controller. It is to be noted that the gear 1, being twice the diameter of the gear 2, the hook or looper 5 is revolved twice to each reciprocation of the needle, and that thereby the advantages of this pluralit of movement of the hook is secured in com ination with my bobbin-controller. I

A disk. 9, having a cam 9', formed on its periphery is fixed to the shaft G, by means of an extended hub 9, and a screw 9see Figs. 2 and 6. This construction enables a circumferential adjustment of the cam for motion roll 10,-mounted on the rear end of a lever 11, fulcrumed on the stem of a screw 15, screwed into the bracket 14,-is normally held in yielding contact with the periphery of the I purposes to be stated hereafter. ",An anticam-.disk 9, by a spring12, one end of which is attached to the lever 11, near said roll, and the other to a bracket extension 13. fulcrum for the lever 11 is afforded by an extended hub 16, sleeved upon screw 15,see

' 40 Fig. 5,and on said hub is sleeved anauxiliarylever 17, havin at its forward end, which overhangs the bob in, a boss 18, which engages said bobbin. One end of a torsional Spring 19, coiled about the hub 16, is innengagement with the lever 17 while the other end of said spring is held by a split, clamping collar 20, secured to the hub 16, andad ustable thereon by means of the screw 21, passing through the wings of said collar. By ad:

5o justing the clamp 20, circumferentially on the hub 16, the tension of the spring may be regulated and likewise the ressure ofthe auxiliary lever 17 on the bob in; and b the construction just noted, the ressure 0 said auxiliary lever upon the bob in is caused to be 'eld1ng. v 1

n the forward end of the lever 11 is a screw-threaded stud 22 ,-.located directly below, and near the end of, the lever 17,.on

which is formed a head 23 and the forward end of the lever 1 1, is split and provided with a screw-threaded aperture to receive the stud 22. A screw 24, passing throughthe split end of the lever, clamps the stud in place, after adjustment,- and prevents displacement or The undesirable movement. This construction and adjustment enables the working osition of the end of the lever 17, relative to t e bobe bin to be nicely regulated, and also enables a limit to be set u on the movement of the lever 17 up to its notional position and into its operative contact with said bobbin.

The bobbin 8 rests on suitable friction material 8, located on the bottom of the bobbin-holder 7, so that it requires butflvery .75 little pressure of the boss 18, on the bobbin, to stop or retard its movement after a suflicientquantity of thread has been drawn from the same, and hold it from turning during the stitch-setting action of the take-up.

The throw of the lever 17 to bring the boss 18 into contact with the, bobbin, is not extensive, hence the projection of the cam 9, on disk 9, is not great and its pitch is low,

.thus rendering it possible to obtain certainty of action of the cam and controller, and permitting the use of a spring to hold the roller 10, in engagement with thecam-disk, not withstanding very high speed of the machine. Although this is a preferred construction, it will be obvious that the lever 11, can beheld in engagement with the cam-disk 9, by any other yielding means; and it .will also be, obvious that instead of employing a periph-"q eral cam, a side cam, or any other means which would cause the lever 11 to move the lever 17, toward the bobbin and into functional position, could be substitutedwith good results. Such alternative means, of course, would not interfere with the yielding action of the controller on the bobbin under certain conditions; for, by reason of the construction described, .the auxiliary lever 17, will always be yielding in its actual functional contact with the bobbin. The disposition of the cam-disk 9, on shaft G, will ordinarily be such as to move the'coritrolle'rup to functional position and into contact with the bobbin just as soon asthe requisite amount of thread has been drawn from the bobbin to make the stitch and, locate the look at the proper point in the work; and the extent of the cam will be such.

as to hold the controller in contact with the bobbin, until after the stitch has been set. During the time the thread is being drawn from the-bobbin, in-nyaking the stitch, the controller is not in contact with the bobbin, and the latter, being sleeved on the usual spindle, or otherwise loobely supported, turns freely and offers practically no resistance to the paying off of thread. .It'will be understood from the foregoing, that the controller is not in engagement w th the bobbin when the loop of the thread passes between the 1 25 bobbin-holder and the means which holds the said case from turning, nor when said loop passes between the controller and the holder; and that the movement of the controller, from contact with the bobbin, is preferably very slight, being only sufficient to allow the free passage of the needle-thread.

As previously noted, the cam-disk is circumferentially adjustable on shaft G, and

the object of this adjustment isto regulate the time at which the controller will go into engagement with the bobbin, create a drag by bringing the controller into operation 40. needle-thread loop. When sufficient bobbinsooner or later, during the formation of the stitch, and allowing a greater or less quantity of bobbin-thread to enter into the stitch structure.

Having described the structural features of my,invention, I will set forth the operation of the same and its coeperation with the stitch-forming mechanism of the machine.

As previously stated, the looper has two rotations to one reciprocation of the needle, take-up and thread-controller. The advantages and functions of this ratio of movement, have been set forth. The bobbinholder has a single thread-delivery eye (not shown) in its side wall, located adjacent the path of reciprocation of the needle; and said older is held from turning with the hook by any-suitable or usual means. The needle descends andlthrows out its loop, which is rapidly entered by the hook of the looper, and, with the aid of the secondary hook referred to, spreads about the bobbin-holder. When the looper ceases its pull upon the loop of needle-thread, the take-up acts and rapidly draws up the loop, at the same time pulling up the bobbin-thread caught in the thread has been drawn from the bobbin, the amount being predetermined by the A adjustment of the controller cam,the controller is caused to move into contact with I the bobbin and prevent any further supply of locking-thread. As previously noted, ac-

cordingly .as' the amount of locking-thread supplied'is varied, the position ofthe lock of the stitch in the Work will be varied. To secure this function it will be clear that the take-up and feed cooperate with the controller; thatis to say, the movement of the controller is timed relative to the movements produce a different length of stitch, affects the time of the com letion of the eflective movements of said ta e-up and feed, or their cooperation with each other. Hence, as has been previously stated, the controller is timed to co-act with the take-up,and, of course, with the feed,-so as to cause the said controller 'to contact with the bobbin just before, or substantially at the time, the take-up and feed complete their effective movements and remains in contact with the bobbin until the stitch has been set. Previously, of course, a sufficient amount of thread has been drawn from the bobbin ,to

complete and enter into the stitch, and when the controller contacts with the bobbin subfrom and the stitch is set. It will thus be seen that, by placing a proper tension on the upper thread, the location of the lock' of the stitch in the work can be predeterminedby the adjustment of the controller-cam 9, to cause the controller to contact sooner or later with the bobbin relative to the completion of the effective movements of the take-up and feed. It will also be clear that the movements of the controller andtake-up may be timed and regulated, as above set forth and to secure the stated function, without respect to the movement of the feed.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a thread-controlling mechanism for operation in connection with the locking-thread of a sewing machine, which permits the thread to be drawn without stress freely from the bobbin, and then stops the movement of said bobbin and further delivery of thread; which is adjustable as to the time of its action on the bobbin, is yielding init-s actualoperation upon the bobbin, and adjustable as to the pressure exerted thereon; and is also adjustable as to its normal position relative to the bobbin, or its extent of action toward the same.

In the drawings 1 have shown a device for carrying the bobbin or mass of thread that is technically known as a stationary bobbin case, but it is to be understood that any suitable device may be used intermediate the bobbin or mass of thread and the looper or fore be understood that I do not wish to be limited to abobbin case or holder having no movement.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and. desire to secure by Letters Patcut is: j

1. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper or hook a bobbin-holder or case supported by sald looper, said bobbin-holder provided with a mechanism comprisin' a looperdisposed to said needle, a bobbin-holder supported by trolling said bobbin.

bobbin, and means for automatically con- 2. In .a sewing machine, a stitch-forming revolve in a horlzonta plane, meansfor revolving said looper, a bobbin-holder' supported by said looper, a bobbin supported y said bobbin-holder, and means for automatically controlling said bobbin.

3. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a reciprocating nee dle, a looper, means for revolvmg sald looper a plurality of times to each reclprocatlon of said looper, a bobbin supported by said bobbin-holder, and means for automatically controlling said bobbin. 4. Ina sewing machine, a'stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper, a bobbinholder su ported by said looper,. a bobbin supported bysaid bobbin holder, a frictiondevlce disposed between the bobbinand the holder, and means for automatically controlling said bobbin.

5. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism, comprisin'ga looper, a bobbinholder, a bobbin supported by said bobbin holder, a bobbin controller for said bobbin, and means for actuating said controller including a device for holding the controller from contact with the bobbin during the time thread is beingdrawn from the same.

6. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper, a bobbin, a controller for said bobbin, means for'operating said controller, andmeans for changing the time of action of said controller to regulate the position of the lock of the thread in the work.

7. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a loo-per, -a bobbin holder supported by the looper, a bobbin carried by said bobbin holder, a bobbin con"- troller, a cam, means for, operating said cam, and means adapting the cam to operate said controller.

8. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper, a bobbinholder supported byv said looper, a bobbin carried by said bobbin holder, -a controller mechanism including a two-part lever yieldingly connected, and means for operating sald lever.

9. Ina'sewing machine, a stitch-forming them together, and means for operating said lever and thereby bringing one of said parts into engagement with-said bobbin. I i

10. In a sewing machine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper, abobbin holder supported by said looper, a controller mechanism for said bobbin including a main lever pivoted between its ends, an auxiliary lever carried, by the main lever, an "adjustable device located between the two levers for controlling the position of one relative to the other, the auxiliary lever adapted to engage the bobbin, and means for operating said controller mechanism.

11. In a sewingmachine, a stitch-forming mechanism comprising a looper, a bobbin case or holder carried by said looper, a bobbin carried by said holder, a bobbin controlling mechanism includin a yielding contact part for engaging the bobbin, and means for operating said bobbin controlling mechanism.

. 12. A sewing machine comprising alooper which revolves in a horizontal plane, a bobbin case and bobbin'carried by said looper, a bobbin controllermechanism having a yielding contact part for engaging said bobbin, and means for actuating said bobbin controller mechanism and thereby bringing said yieldin contact part into engagement with said bo bin,

13. A sewin machine, comprising a reciprocating heedIe, a looper which revolves twice to each reciprocation of said needle, a bobbin case and bobbin carried b said looper, a bobbin controller having a obbin contact 'part, and means for bringing said contact part into engagement with the bobbin once to each'alternate revolution of said looper only.

Signed at New York in the York and State of New York December A. D. 1901., l

I WILLIAM N. PARKESL VVitne'sses: I w l R. C. BOSWELL, GUSTAV SOHONHEIT.

county of New this 7th day of 

